Jay posts 30 new cases

Jay County posted a single-day case record Wednesday.

The county recorded 30 new cases of COVID-19 according to the report Indiana State Department of Health released Thursday. Its previous high was 13 cases Oct. 23.

The new high total for a single day continued Jay County’s pattern of increasing spread of the disease caused by the coronavirus. Through Wednesday, there had been 182 new cases in October, more than twice as many as any other month during the pandemic. There have been 76 cases in the last seven days, an average of 10.9 per day.

Just a day earlier, Jay County moved into the “high” category on the state’s scale for risk of spreading coronavirus, joining 52 other Indiana counties in that range. The ratings are based on weekly cases per 100,000 residents and 7-day positivity rate, as measured each Sunday. Jay County had a rate of 278 cases per 100,000 and a 12.4% positivity rate.

As of Thursday’s report, the county was at 381 cases and six deaths as a result of COVID-19.

Totals in adjacent counties are as follows: Delaware – 3,263 and 78 deaths; Mercer – 1,679 cases and 30 deaths; Darke – 1,264 cases and 51 deaths; Adams – 633 cases and seven deaths; Wells – 504 cases and 12 deaths; Randolph – 439 cases and 11 deaths; and Blackford – 255 cases and 5 deaths.

Jay County has an overall rate of 1,864.4 cases per 100,000 residents, which is higher than Adams (1,769), Randolph (1,779) and Wells (1,781) counties but lower than Delaware (2,168) and Blackford (2,168)

Coronavirus is spread through respiratory droplets from sneezes and coughs, close personal contact and touching something with the virus on it and then touching the mouth, nose or eyes before washing hands. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines encourage frequent hand washing, avoiding touching the face with unwashed hands, avoiding close contact with those who are sick, covering coughs and sneezes with a facial tissue and wearing a mask in public.